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The Burning of the
Palms
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full-size
Have you ever
wondered where the ashes for Ash Wednesday come from?
 According to long tradition,
the Palms from the previous year's Palm Sunday are burned on Shrove Tuesday,
and the resulting ashes imposed on the foreheads of worshippers the next day,
on which Lent begins. At Holy Apostles this conflagration is done with great
flourish and ceremony (and with tongues firmly planted in cheek, in the other
tradition of Mardi Gras, a day when things are turned upside-down).
 After a celebration of the Eucharist, parishioners
and friends feast on pancakes and other rich foods, reminiscent of the medieval
practice of using up all eggs, milk, and butter before the Lenten fast begins
(“Mardi Gras” means “Fat Tuesday”). The tone is lively and
festive, one final party before the rigors of Lent commence; then after the
meal the Officiant appears, vested in black chasuble (and beads!) with servers
carrying incense and bells. The people join in a not-so-solemn procession to
the barbeque grill, where the palms have been prepared for their demise.
 After a hymn ("Shall we gather at the Weber"), the
Officiant chants a specially-written collect beginning "O God of blazing
glory..." and the palms are censed. Finally they are set ablaze, and as all
watch enraptured, someone inevitably asks who brought the
marshmallows.
When the flames die down, the people gather once more in the
Chapel for Compline, a quiet (and at last, serious) transition into the Lenten
season. |
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